February 28, 2010

Hi everyone, please take a moment and go to: http://artofmyrajae.blogspot.com. She makes the neatest little videos and slideshows. Her last one has my "Bold on Brown" painting right at the beginning. I'm so proud :D.

Well I know I said I would have my painting "Waiting" framed and ready to see BUT I had a blooper. I was painting the frame with my heat set oils and when I went to set the paint in the oven...IT MELTED. Yep, you read right. The frame was made of some kind of dense foam and it came out of the oven all warped and strange looking. I really should post a picture of it..it's kinda artistic on it's own.

Anyway, I've decided just to post the finished painting without the frame and I'll go pick up a new frame next time I go shopping.

Until next time, I hope you have a great day and don't melt any frames.

February 27, 2010

Hi folks. I'm still puttering away at the frame for the picture of my mother-in-law. Hopefully it'll be ready for me to show you tomorrow.

I had the painting I sold at the Lake Country Art Walk last September, reproduced as a giclee and framed. It's now for sale at Apple Art Works in Kelowna, BC. Here's a picture of it. Sorry the image is a little blurry.

The scene is from a look-out on Hyw.#1 west of Kamloops, BC. This proud old tree had called to me for several years before I finally captured it in paint and now as a giclee.

February 23, 2010

I've been working on Mom's painting but I've lost her. Shouldn't have messed with it. Whoever I have right now, looks like a nice older lady but it's just not Mom. Oh well, maybe tomorrow she'll come back.

"Afternoon Invitation"

36"h x 24"w

Oil on stretched canvas

Available

Just so I can add a picture to my blog, I'll add another painting from a year or so ago. This painting is of Lake Okanagan on a hot summer day. It makes me dream of swimming; unfortunately when I look out the window I see that Duck Lake, where I live, is frozen over. b-r-r-r-r...

February 20, 2010

Today I'm putting some finishing touches on "Waiting" and an abstract I call "Look Up"(more on it another day). I'm also trying to redo the oval frame for "Waiting". I'm not having great success so it may be a few days before I post the final picture.

"Bold on Brown"

medium - Acrylic

size 27.5” x 25.5” framed

available

For today I'm just attaching a picture of a painting I did quite a while ago. It has a prestigious spot in my dining room because I find it so cheerful. The flower that inspired it was only about an inch in diameter. Hope you have a good day.

February 19, 2010

Hi everyone. I'm giving the painting of Mom a few days to simmer. Maybe it's like coffee and just sitting will make it stronger. I like to live with my paintings for a while before adding the finishing touches.

In the meantime I'm posting a picture of my triptych called, "Life's Journey". It represents my journey but I'm hoping others might relate as well. It's on my living room wall for now, but in a few days it will come down and be sent off to a gallery.

February 17, 2010

I'm back at work today but I wanted to post a picture of yesterday's progress on my painting: "Waiting". It's so much fun to work on I can't wait to get home so I can continue to paint.
Portraits are fascinating to create.

Today I'm posting an update on the portrait called "Waiting". It's becoming a very emotional painting that is developing a personality of it's own. I can see the anxiety in Mom's face as age took her memory and she became impatient to go Home. Experience has taught me that every brushstroke can change an expression, so things may change. In the meantime it's amazing to watch the transformation.

The frame is one I found at a thrift store. I'm waiting until the painting is finished before choosing the final colour.

That's right, I was given a sunshine award by Myra at Last Cup of Coffee. Not only that but she made a video and included two of my paintings. Please go to her link and see the neat video she made and I suggest you start following her blog. It's one of my favourites.

February 15, 2010

Well, thanks to the encouraging comments, on yesterday's blog posting from Myra an Karen, I got busy this morning and started the portrait I'm going to call "Waiting". Right now it's in the oven for ten minutes, so the undercoats can dry. I use Genesis Oils most of the time because I like to be ready to paint at any time. With Genesis, the paint doesn't dry until you dry it. This is perfect for me because my brushes always stay wet and ready to go. Usually when I'm painting, I dry as needed with the heat gun, but today I wanted to dry the whole picture and take some time to write this blog posting. Thus the oven.

February 14, 2010

I had dessert for breakfast. Okay, I'll admit it's not a first. The real problem might be that I'm eating chocolate at lunch. I'm blaming it on it being Valentine's day. I'll be good tomorrow.

I'm starting a portrait of my mother-in-law. She was a very sweet woman who was loved by all who met her. It's a little intimidating trying to paint her, but I have a photo that's calling to me. I've included it so you can see why.

My morning coffee is such a delight. I recently join Cafepress to sell images of my art. I think it might be nice to order a cup with a picture of my art on it, to savour my morning wake up brew. I wonder if the coffee will taste better?

February 11, 2010

I finally did what I've wanted to do for awhile; I added a picture to Paintmap. Because I focused on local landscapes for a couple of years, I have several pictures I want to add over the next few days.

February 10, 2010

After a little bit of fiddling I accomplished my goal. I now have a piece of art in this weeks theme, "Blue" at Artmakr weekend. My picture "Midnight Orchid" is in the private collection of a fellow artist Marlene McPherson from here in the Okanagan Valley. I did a trade with her and am now the very proud owner of one of her original arcylics. I've included a picture of her wonderful piece of art. Check out her web page by clicking on her link.

February 9, 2010

I found this site: http://www.artmakrweekend.com , and wanted to enter their theme challenge for this week. It's simply called, "blue". The painting I want to enter is attached but I still haven't managed to enter it on their web site as yet. I'll keep trying and maybe I'll muddle through.

February 7, 2010

I missed soup Sunday at church today. It's such a great time to visit with friends. Oh well... everyone has to take their turn working at the gallery on Sunday's. It's located in Kelowna's biggest mall so I did have lots of people to talk with. Some come in just to say, "Hi", which is kinda neat.

Today I'm adding a painting that I painted a couple years ago. It was my first large painting; two foot by three foot. I've done bigger since but at the time I thought I'd never finish it. I think it took me close to four months before it was done. (I paint in short shifts)

February 4, 2010

Good Morning everyone. It's above freezing, the coffee tastes good and life is good. I'm off to work shortly, but wanted to say hi, first. Today I'm attaching a picture of the painting I made of my sweet daughter-in-law, as a Christmas gift for my grandson. He might not appreciate it until he's older but that's okay.